Happy Birthday (and New Year) Howard and Caroline!

 Happy New Year and Happy 7th Birthday to our terrific Twins!

Caroline is still the sweetest most helpful little girl in the planet... until she's not. We've said it before and it holds incredibly true of our Sweet Caroline, "there once was a girl with a curl and when she was good she was very good, and when she was bad, she was horrid." Our Caroline is amazing and the absolute best big sister on the planet. 

She loves school, cheerleading, dance and gymnastics, swimming, dolls, and her siblings. 

Howard is such a fun seven-year-old boy. He really is incredibly sweet but the more he loves you, the more he will try to annoy you... and he loves the people in his life A LOT! 

He is the most competitive child in the planet and loves every sport he has ever watched or played -- Boxing, Wrestling, Football, Basketball, Baseball, Swimming, Running, Golf, Skiing, and more, this kid wants to be the best at it all. 

Having twins is the best. Caroline is much braver and confident because of Howard. Howard is more empathic and caring because of Caroline. They really make a great team. They are still in the same class at school and we love that they learn well in that setting.

Go Blue!

 Here's hoping we can end the year with a sound and impressive Michigan victory in the College Football Playoff Semi-finals against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And the days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We'll drink a cup of kindness yet

For the sake of auld lang syne

GO BLUE!

Happy Birthday H & C!

 Wishing Howard and Caroline the Happiest of Birthdays!

I cannot believe my twins are SIX years old!  WOW!

I will do a more detailed post about them on facebook and in a few days on here, but I have to do this post in advance as we will be traveling back to Colorado on our twins' birthday... and hopefully we will be able to give them a special birthday given that we will be traveling AND it is National Holiday when many things are closed.

Take a look at this picture... I am only now realizing that Howard is standing on Caroline's foot while the picture is being taken.  If that doesn't sum up what Caroline has to deal with having a six-year-old twin brother, I don't know what does.  God Bless that Sweet Girl!

Top Nine of 2020

 Sometimes people who are very active on Instagram compile their top nine posts or photos from a year.  Sometimes they will even share how many likes each picture received in their 9 most popular posts from the year.

I like compiling my top nine pictures from each year, but I don't pay any attention to instagram or facebook when I do it.  Sometimes I choose pictures that I never posted throughout the year.

I like to choose nine pictures that I feel best summarizes our year... this year was HARD to do but I eventually found nine photos that did the year justice.

Top Row: 

1. Our Thank You Essential Workers sign that we made and then hung in our front window for months as the world changed overnight and we learned that we all could live in our own little home for as long as needed.

2. Hubby pushing the kiddos in a cart with everyone wearing masks on one of our first times out of the house after the initial stay-at-home orders were lifted

3. School at home

Middle Row:

1. Three children learned how to ride two-wheeled bicycles and we spent much of the year biking together around the neighborhood

2. The three oldest children took horseback-riding lessons and we loved knowing they were outside learning and enjoying a new sport and hobby.  They each grew so much through their time in these lessons and we cannot wait to start again this spring.

3. At home archery field where we can hold family archery practice.

Bottom Row:

1. After six months at home and in Colorado, we learned the risks that we are still willing to take amidst a pandemic.  While we do not take the COVID-19 virus lightly AT ALL, we take the seriousness and the recommended precautions VERY seriously, we learned that families take risks in order to be together.  A huge highlight of our year was our entire extended family (minus two nephews) traveling thousands of miles to surprise Hubby over Labor Day weekend for his 40th Birthday.  We will never forget both the love that our family showed, but also the risk they took in coming to celebrate this milestone with us.

2. We traveled to St. Louis after Christmas to see Hubby's family and for our children to see their cousins.  We certainly hope and pray that these cousins will be close friends for life and walk together through life's many challenges and uncertainties -- they need a foundational relationship in order to do that, and so they need to be able to make memories together.

3. In proper 2020 form, we arranged for the children to see their great-grandfather, from outside a window so as to both keep him safe and make him feel comfortable.  With vaccines being distributed, we truly hope that the end is in sight for these kind of measures and precautions moving forward.

The year 2020 was not all bad for us... we are so incredibly fortunate for our blessings throughout the year... but it was different with unexpected and unprecedented challenges.  We will take the lessons and memories of 2020 with us as we sojourn on.

Welcome 2021!

End of The Year

 

Happy Birthday Caroline & Howard!!

Age Four

 

A Few Things About Caroline

 

Caroline loves to help she is such a natural caregiver. She loves children who are younger, babies, or even taking care of her older sibling. Some of her favorite things to do are helping make dinner or bake or cook in anyway we will let her, feeding the dog and cat, unloading the dishwasher, and vacuuming. She also loves to set up a kitchen or restaurant using her a little toy dish sets and she takes orders and serves her siblings and keeps a very tidy restaurant for them. She is very sensitive and less adventurous than some of our other children. She watches and considers the situation before she wants to be a part of the adventure. She also likes to sing in the car and she's in her second year of dance class.  She truly is our Sweet Caroline.

A Few Things About Howard

Howard is always ready for adventure. His feet do not walk -- they run and jump. He’s full of energy and all boy. He loves playing baseball, basketball, and wrestling around our house and trying to do flips on our trampoline.  He has played two seasons of soccer and after one year of dance, he informed us that dance is no for him.  He enjoys hot wheels, superheroes, action, and excitement. He also loves to help make dinner and can apply himself very diligently to a task when he wants to. He is meticulous and loves puzzles.

The Twins

These twins continue to share a special bond that none of our other children do. They may not always play together but they always come back to each other. They can recognize each other‘s cries and each other‘s voices and they are very linked even though they have found their own interests this year. They also know how to push each other‘s buttons in a way that no one else does. We pray they remain very close friends throughout the course of their lives.